Peripheral cards are printed circuit boards that connect to a motherboard of a computing system in order to expand the functionality of the computing system. To insert a peripheral card into the computing system or remove a peripheral card therefrom, the cover of a chassis containing the computing system must be removed. In the case of servers, this is difficult because there may be numerous cables connected to the server that need to be disconnected such that the server can be removed from a cabinet holding the server before the cover can be removed. Depending on the number and types of cables that need to be disconnected, this may be a time consuming operation.
Recently, there has also been a movement toward “hot swappable” peripheral cards. “Hot swappable” peripheral cards such as PCI Express (PCIe) cards allow such cards to be inserted or removed from a motherboard while the computing system is powered on. Several issues exist with current peripheral card design and the ease of hot swappable replacement. For example, with the cover removed from a computing system chassis in order to insert/remove/replace a peripheral card, there is reluctance to service a computer system that is powered on for fear of electrical shock or causing damage to the system. Thus, service technicians typically shut down the system to add or replace peripheral cards, thereby defeating the purpose of the “hot swappable” feature.
For the above reasons, there is a need for improved apparatus and methods for installing peripheral cards into computing systems. The present invention addresses this need among others.